Golf great Greg Norman said he was recovering in a US hospital Sunday after almost cutting off his hand with a chainsaw.

Australia's former world No.1 posted a photo to Instagram of himself lying in a hospital bed with his left arm heavily bandaged.

Norman, 59, issued a warning alongside the photo and suggested he had come close to severing one of his hands.

Norman last week posted a photo of himself working with a chainsaw to cut back a small tree at what appears to be one of his seaside properties. 

Norman had one of the most high-profile careers in golf, winning two British Opens and reigning as world No.1 for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s. Norman inspired many current day Australian professionals to play golf, including world No.2 Adam Scott.

Norman's mishap invoked memories of a near-fatal accident to fellow Australian and former British Open and Augusta Masters runner-up Jack Newton.

In 1983 at the height of his professional career, Newton nearly died when he walked into the spinning propeller of a light plane he was about to board at Sydney Airport. He lost his right arm and eye and sustained severe abdominal injuries.

Newton spent several days in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care before a prolonged rehabilitation from his injuries to return to public life as a television and radio golf commentator.